Apparently fires have been lit all around Mareja and even below the house. The Rangers found a poachers camp and confiscated nets and snares. They then scuttled away before the poachers returned. Fire making is a skill everyone has with or without matches and it is very effective, used to drive game into your net, push them into a snare rich zone or temporarily wipe out a habitat. The hope is that they were not really 'hot' fires which devastate all flammable life. However, at this time in the season the land is getting pretty dry, so they could be...
Every year there is a programme of early burning. And we managed, what felt like, a good amount this year trying to create 'breaks' so that the big hot fires can't take hold. I drove as others dabbled their fire sticks into thick knots of vegetation (fire sticks made from bamboo shredded at the end like a loobrush or knots of grass tied into bundles).
These burns are done along roads and tracks so the breaks are linear. Dominik particularly wants to protect the rich and rare mountain vegetation. But the thought of this uncontrollable force of nature manufactured for maximum effect is really worrying. You can only imagine the panic in the animal world when they hear that deep crackle of hungry fire. And apparently a 3 day fire came really close to the house, they have estimated about 5,000 hectares of fire.
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